Robotics & Automation News

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Oceanographers select Wave Glider ocean robot for scientific research

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Top oceanographers have selected Wave Gliders, the most experienced, long duration ocean robots, as their sensor platform to conduct advanced scientific research in the most inhospitable and remote regions of the Arctic and Southern Oceans.

The US scientists, from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Scripps) and the Applied Physics Laboratory of the University of Washington (APL-UW), will integrate sophisticated oceanographic and atmospheric sensors onto the Wave Gliders to measure extreme wave states, winds, temperature, and salinity in the upper layers of the ocean.

Historically, these regions have been under-sampled due to the dangers and risks of operating in these turbulent oceans.

[Read more…] about Oceanographers select Wave Glider ocean robot for scientific research

Honda partners on General Motors’ next-gen battery development

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General Motors Co. and Honda will partner on new advanced chemistry battery components, including the cell and module, to accelerate both companies’ plans for all-electric vehicles.

The next-generation battery is aimed at delivering higher energy density, smaller packaging and faster charging capabilities for both companies’ future products, mainly for the North American market.

Under the agreement, the companies will collaborate based on GM’s next generation battery system with the intent for Honda to source the battery modules from GM.

[Read more…] about Honda partners on General Motors’ next-gen battery development

ClassOne sees upturn in plating sales for VCSEL devices

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Semiconductor equipment manufacturer ClassOne Technology has been selling its Solstice electroplating systems to the industry’s leading providers of VCSEL (Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser) devices in recent months.

“This is an important trend. We’re observing unprecedented demand for VCSEL manufacturing capacity to support 3D sensing, fibre-optic communications, and laser-based materials processing,” said ClassOne Group CEO, Byron Exarcos.

“At the same time, we see that compound semiconductor manufacturers are migrating production from wet-benches to automated single-wafer plating. The strong upturn in our Solstice sales reflects this.”

[Read more…] about ClassOne sees upturn in plating sales for VCSEL devices

China opens ‘world’s first’ bank staffed entirely by robots

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China is reported to have opened a bank staffed entirely by robots. According to The Guardian, this is the first robot-operated bank in the world. 

There are many bank branches around the world which do not have human staff at one time or another during the week.

Customers are left to contend with automated teller machines in the absence of the human staff.  [Read more…] about China opens ‘world’s first’ bank staffed entirely by robots

Nobody’s perfect: Future relationships with humanoid robots

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The concept of creating the perfect companion has probably been a central theme in works of science fiction since the beginning of science fiction. 

Although Frankenstein’s monster is not everyone’s idea of the perfect companion, Mary Shelley wrote the novel before 1818, when it was first published.

That’s at least 200 years since someone described a mad scientist who creates a human-like being in a lab using means other than natural procreation. [Read more…] about Nobody’s perfect: Future relationships with humanoid robots

Mercedes-Benz to launch all-electric car in 2019

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Mercedes-Benz will launch the EQC, the first all-electric Mercedes-Benz model from the new product and technology brand EQ, in 2019.

Between January and March, prototypes of the new model series completed tough winter testing in northern Sweden.

The next waystations on the road to series production are more suspension/powertrain tests as well as integrated complete-vehicle high-temperature testing in southern Europe.

[Read more…] about Mercedes-Benz to launch all-electric car in 2019

Boston Dynamics to unleash its terrifying canine robot on the world next year

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Boston Dynamics, maker of the world’s most terrifying robots, is preparing to unleash its nightmare-inducing canine robot onto the world next year. 

The company clearly thinks the machine is ready for the market but the question is whether or not the market is ready for the machine.

Boston Dynamics specialises in making humanoid and canine robots. In both instances, the robots it has demonstrated are capable of moving in such a realistic way that some observers have demanded they be kept permanently in labs.  [Read more…] about Boston Dynamics to unleash its terrifying canine robot on the world next year

Drishti raises $10 million to ‘digitise’ factory workers

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Even after decades of advancement in robotics and automation, humans are still the biggest contributors to value creation in manufacturing.

Yet, the techniques to measure human activities in the factory are 100 years old—dating back to the time of Henry Ford—and impossible to perform at scale.

Humans in the plant are effectively invisible to analytics. Major manufacturing business decisions are based on incomplete and unreliable data.

[Read more…] about Drishti raises $10 million to ‘digitise’ factory workers

Festo showcases bio-inspired robots including rolling spider and flying ‘fox’ which actually looks more like a bat

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Festo, a supplier of automation equipment, has unveiled two new lightweight robotic concepts inspired by nature.

The BionicWheelBot and BionicFlyingFox are this year’s creations from the company’s Bionic Learning Network, where Festo’s experts looked at the motion of spiders and bats to navigate complex situations – from crossing rocky terrain to learning efficient flight paths.

BionicWheelBot robot is based on the flic-flac spider, which lives in the Sahara and escapes predators with cartwheels and flips.  [Read more…] about Festo showcases bio-inspired robots including rolling spider and flying ‘fox’ which actually looks more like a bat